Golden Flames
by Shiro-Usa
Summary: Welcome to the world of fresh-out-of-sixth-form Alex Knight or, more accurately, worlds. After a tragic fire and dramatic rescue, just when Alex felt herself drifting into the darkness, something pulled her out. But not in the way she expected. So, if she falls into the world of the Avenger's, what is she supposed to do then? More importantly, how are they going to cope with the 18


_**Golden Flames**_

**Welcome to the world of fresh-out-of-sixth-form Alex Knight or, more accurately, **_**worlds**_**. After a tragic fire and dramatic rescue, just when Alex felt herself drifting into the darkness, something pulled her out. But not in the way she expected. So, if she falls into the world of the Avenger's, what is she supposed to do then? More importantly, how are they going to cope with the 18 year old child?**

**-Yes, hi, um...well, you guys haven't heard from me in a while and you probably wondered if I was kidnapped or if I died or if I was wiped off the face of the earth, right? So, I just wanna say that I haven't. I've just been doing a lot of reading and I've got tons of different normal and crossover ideas going on up here. I'd say, at this moment, including this story I have... probably, like 12, or so, ideas. Yeah, I know, my brains a messed up place but I don't care so get over yourself.**

_**Chapter One**_

_**The End of the Beginning**_

The existence of alternate universes is a strange concept to comprehend.

They contain the strangest of things that may, in cases, be familiar. These multiple existences tend to be linked; usually in the most strange and unexpected ways. The very thought of it, to some people, seemed crazy and, quite frankly, impossible. Of course, there were those who believed in such a concept. But who would believe the words of the wise as man has long since feared that which he cannot see. However, there _are _those who accept such things.

Now, I shall take you to the world of Alex Knight; a shy, quiet girl with a child-like innocence who has never thought much of herself. Our story starts on the 31st of August, as the young 18 year old walked through her house and towards her door, her suitcases in tow, ready to leave for University. She stood near the exit of her home, taking in each and every detail in which she had grown up in and let out a longing sigh, not wanting to let go. As she stepped out of her house, she saw a letter on the floor that had been mistakenly delivered to them. She looked at the letter and realised it was for Mrs Brown who lived a few houses down. She'd always liked the Brown family and had often been asked to babysit the children who were, at the very least, six years younger than her. She thought of it as a good chance to say goodbye. She turned to her father, Marcus Knight, a middle-aged man with tanned skin and dark brown hair and eyes.

"Hey Dad, d'you mind waitin', like, five minutes? I'm just gonna go and say bye to the Brown's," she explained and her father gave her a small smile.

"No problem, just don't take too long," he warned somewhat playfully. Alex smiled softly and turned to the direction of the Brown's house whilst tugging and carrying her luggage with her.

As she walked, her stomach twisted in a strange way. Her stomach had been twisting a lot recently but the feeling her gut was giving her, was somewhat different compared to her recent ones. Alex pondered over the strange feeling and didn't realize that she had, in fact, reached the Brown's front door. She knocked and waited for a yell but she heard nothing. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she knocked again and still nothing happened. She took a glance behind her to see that the cars were still parked where they always were, signifying that no one had left the house. Worry and unease started to fill Alex as she took out her key chain from her handbag and opened the door with a spare key that Mr and Mrs Brown had given her for emergencies. Alex opened the front door and put her keys back in her bag as she walked inside, pulling/carrying her suitcases along into the main hall. She could smell smoke in the air quite clearly and the feeling of worry was brimming over the edges of her emotional tolerance. Alex put her bags down and climbed up the stairs as the air seemed to get thicker and darker.

Alex was a rather smart girl; albeit, quite lazy. She never really tried to learn or actually study so all she knew, which was quite a lot, was completely natural and obtained with no effort. Because of this somewhat strange quality, she had quickly pieced together what was going on. Her theory was proved correct as she stared at the end of the hallway which was lit up in flames.

Alex stood there, frozen in shock and fear. What on earth was she supposed to do? She wanted to go in and get everyone out but she also wanted to run out, screaming, and hide under her bed. She knew she wasn't brave as she proudly admitted that she was, in fact, a gutless chicken; so how was she meant to run in and be a hero? Images of the Brown family flashed through her mind as she remembered their smiling faces. Something grew inside of Alex; something she hadn't felt before. The feeling overtook her fear and her shocked/scared face tuned into a determined one.

She ran back downstairs in search for the phone. She may have found courage but she wasn't an idiot and her intelligence hadn't been thrown out the window either. She tore through the kitchen in her search and went into the living room, giving the room a thorough inspection. She finally found the sleek, cordless, black telephone under a cushion and she quickly pressed the three numbers she never thought she'd have to dial in her calm, uneventful life. She waited impatiently, waiting to hear the sound of someone's voice. As soon as she did, she yelled hurriedly into the device in her hand.

"Hello?! Can I please have an ambulance and a fire engine over as fast as possible? It's an emergency! ... No, I can't calm down! ...There's a fire at 83 Lightning Gardens..! Right...thank you." Alex hurriedly tossed the phone aside and quickly sprinted up the stairs. When she got there, she almost punched herself as she quickly apprehended that the flames were even stronger now. She ran down the hall and into the farthest room belonging to the Browns eldest child; 13-year-old Michael.

Alex checked the handle but quickly retracted her hand from the heat. She pondered for a moment before kicking down the door. She spotted Michael's leg poking out from under a bundled quilt. She quickly untangled Michael and threw his arm around her neck as she stood him up. Michael coughed slightly as he started to wake. Alex barely realized this as she got them out of the house as fast as she possibly could. She sat Michael down against the fence as he started to realize that Alex had carried him outside.

"What-what are you doing? What happened?" He coughed out. Alex shushed him whilst checking him over.

"Relax, Mikey. It's gonna be fine. There's nothing to worry about; it's gonna be ok," she assured him as he started to awaken. "Now, I want you to stay here. The fire fighters and the paramedics should be coming soon, for now, I'm gonna get everyone else out. Stay." Michael nodded as she ran back inside.

Alex ran towards her next destination which was across the hall from the first. As she entered the smoky room she found the twins; nine year old Mia and Tia. She quickly grabbed onto them and ran out when something caught her eye.

Inside the bathroom, where the heart of the fire resided, she could faintly make out a broken window and faintly make out a small, rocket-shaped item lying lifelessly in the flames.

Alex proceeded to head towards the exit as the twins in her arms began to cough. She sped her pace up and soon reached clearer air. She knelt down and placed Mia and Tia beside Mike, who looked a lot better than before.

"Take care of them whilst I get the others. Oh, and, I found out what caused the fire. Some idiot's firework-rocket-thing flew off course and crashed in the upstairs bathroom," she quickly explained to Mike who was trying to absorb her words.

Alex raced back into the house and grabbed onto the forever arguing eight year old Eric and seven year old Eliza from their respective bedrooms. A bead of sweat ran down her forehead; she could feel the temperature steadily increasing. Alex ran out of the house and back in again to get the Brown's youngest member; little Theodore James or TJ. As she took the three year old from his bed, she wrapped the blanket firmly around him and ran quickly back outside. Whilst running back inside, Alex had taken in her surroundings again; the flames had grown drastically. The air was so thick, it was hard to see through and most of the house had been indulged in the flames. She only had one stop lest to make; Mr and Mrs Brown.

As Alex turned the doorknob, she realised it was locked. She tried knocking but there was no response so, in turn, she decided on ramming it down. After a few rams, and the fact the door was slightly damaged/weakened from the spits of fire, the door gave in.

Alex gave a slight yelp as she fell through the door and hissed in pain whilst clutching her forearm, the blood seeping through the flesh wound. She looked up to see Mr Brown sprawled across his desk and Mrs Brown beneath a pile of paper.

'_Tough night' _she thought as she ran to dig Mrs Brown out from the paper. Just as she did, she heard a crash residing from, well, downstairs. Her eyes widened in slight panic as she violently shook Mrs Brown awake.

"Wh-what? What's going on?" she asked, groggily. Her eyes squinted as she took in the situation. Then, the lack of oxygen took effect and she started to cough abruptly.

"The house is on fire, it's really bad, things are collapsing, and your kids are safe outside so help me wake up your husband please!" Alex explained in a single breath, almost too fast for Mrs Brown to comprehend but, as soon as she did, her eyes turned the size of dinner plates as she scrambled out of her bed sheets towards her husband, tripping along the way. When Mr Brown awoke, he saw Alex and his wife, the air thick with smoke, the splintered remains of a door and blazing red and orange flames. He looked around drowsily,

"Am I hallucinating?" He then heard a large crash.

"I have a feeling that was another pillar," Alex thought aloud, worried. Mr Brown's eyebrows narrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a get straight to the point; the house caught fire because some idiots rocket flew off course and into the upstairs bathroom, I have a feeling that most of upstairs has crashed and burned into downstairs which has increased the spread the fire, I've called an ambulance and a fire engine, I've already got your kids safe outside but the house is about to collapse and we need to get out before we get burned and buried alive!" Alex explained with obvious haste.

"Are you sure you have everyone out?" Mr Brown looked at her in complete seriousness as she nodded frantically. "Grab everything important and irreplaceable," he said and grabbed a duffel bag.

"You sure this is absolutely necessary?!" Alex yelled somewhat incredulously.

"I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't!" Mr Brown yelled back, not stopping to do so. As soon as they finished, they headed into the flames and carefully down the burnt stairs. Alex felt the smoke in the air thicken as she pulled her red scarf up to her mouth with a cough. As the trio edged through the flames, their exit soon came into view. The door seemed right within their grasp when Alex heard something above the flames. A creaking of sorts; perhaps a crackling noise.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she swallowed the lump in her dry throat. She glanced to the pillar on her left and instantly stopped breathing.

Adrenaline rushed through her veins, the substance unfamiliar to her, acting like a drug. Everything raced through her mind at alarming speeds.

The panic.

The pressure.

The fear.

The heat.

The pure rush.

The rush of everything and... a drive.

Motivation.

Courage.

Perhaps.

Perhaps it was that, perhaps it wasn't. She couldn't tell.

Humans are considered to be the dominant species of the planet. The superior beings, being raised on such a high pedestal and all. It's why we have such a vast civilisation. We thirst for knowledge; the search for the unknown. But, when it all comes down to it, be it a perilous situation or choosing which sandwich we should have for lunch, even we tend to go back and act purely on instinct. No second thoughts.

Just follow your heart and go with the flow.

Like a leaf in the wind.

With that split-second decision made, Alex pushed the couple with all the strength she could muster, right out the door, to safety. The couple turned their heads, and the last thing they saw was Alex's smile. It was pure and real, filled with certainty. A split second later, all that was seen were the blazing flames as they overtook their view.

"ALEX!" Mrs Brown screamed, horror and desperation strangling her vocal chords. All Mr Brown could do was stare as the sheer shock and reality of the situation kept him from doing much else besides holding onto his wife as tears poured down their faces.

The children slowly edged toward their distraught parent, slowly realizing what was happening.

Alex was still inside.

As soon as Alex had seen their shocked faces, they had disappeared just as quickly as she hastily stepped back, narrowly avoiding the burning pillar she had saved the pair from moments ago.

'_No way out now'_ she thought, coughing.

She warily backed up into the main hall and leaned against the, slightly charred, luggage. The spot she was standing in was the one place the fire hadn't reached... _yet_. Sooner or later, that very spot would've been devoured by the flames as well. Her vision blurred as the oxygen deteriorated around her. Her life seemed to be flashing right before her eyes.

She felt... nothing.

She couldn't feel the lack of oxygen, the carbon monoxide entering and poisoning her, nor could she feel the burns and cuts on her bruised limbs. Her legs slowly gave out, unable to hold her up and she lied there, atop her luggage, unconscious. She looked to be waiting for death to come take her. If anyone had been there, watching, they might've said she looked like Snow White after eating the poisoned apple, or Sleeping Beauty after she had touched the enchanted spinning wheel. Lying there with such a serene look spread across her face. If she would have been left there any longer, she would've died in her sleep, from carbon monoxide poisoning. But, she couldn't. Fate had other plans. And this may or may not have come in the form of a glowing blue portal.

_**To be continued...**_

**Me: what's up people? Been a while, right? Yeah, it totally has. So, I am in my **_**final**_** year of high school. As i'm writing this, my birthday is in **_**NINE DAYS PEOPLE! AND WHAT!**_** Anyway. This is an Avengers-fic , obviously, and, just so you know, i'm not, REPEAT NOT, abandoning **_**Love Charm**_**. I did post a notice on there, i'm quite sure. Also, lots of shits gone down ya know. Teenage angst, third world problems, high school drama, exam and coursework stress but, right now, I have a week off cause of half-term. I **_**should**_** be studying coughcrammingcough. And I will. Later. c:. I'm thinking of possibly crossing over this fic with Hawaii Five-O because i'm kinda obsessed with it now cause its awesome and I think the main character, Steve McGarrett AKA Alex O'Loughlin, is ULTRA awesome and super badass 'cause, you know, he's **_**super SEAL**_**. Yup, **_**badass**_**. But that's still **_**quite**_** a ways away so don't worry about it **_**too **_**much and I really do hope you enjoy **_**Golden Flames**_**. I've started writing chapters and such on the memo pad option on my phone so to have easier access to writing, so I can just type it up on the computer, editing as I go, when I have the time.**

**Really do hope you enjoy and pleasepleaseplease review; virtual pizza for those who do!**

**Shiro-Usa**


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